March 10, 2016
The South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Trade Show opens in Austin on Sunday, March 13, 2016, and Denton, Texas, will be well represented. A partnership between the Denton Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) , the City of Denton Economic Development division, the University of North Texas, the Denton Chamber of Commerce Economic Development department and Texas Woman’s University will make this year’s show bigger and better than last year’s.
The CVB and the City’s Economic Development division partnered in 2015 to reach out to the technology and creative class attendees who make up the audience at SXSWi.
“We wanted to be different—not just have a table with brochures,” said Kim Phillips, Vice President of Denton’s CVB. “Each day we featured a different Denton artist or maker, who actually created their art in the booth. We had people coming back, day after day, to see what new, cool thing we were doing.”
This year, the expanded team will carry on this unorthodox method of getting people to stop at Denton’s booth.
“We’re going to Austin to spread the word about what a great place Denton is to work, to live, to create,” said Julie Glover, the City’s Economic Development Program Administrator. “Our goal is to attract creative people to Denton to live, open businesses, create art or music, and add to the factors that make us the Creative Capital of Texas.”
This year’s makers and artists include: From the Future –game and app creators; Colby Parsons—sculptor; Yan Wan and Shengli Fu—drone designers; Bell & Oak—leatherworker; Norman Roscoe—screenprinters; and Paola Mariscal—chalk artist/sign designer.
This year’s theme, “Come Innovate in Denton, Texas” shows that the city values originality, independence and, if you seek to be innovative, Denton is the place to do it.
“This show gives us an opportunity to engage visitors and impart a genuine feeling of what ‘Dentoning’ is all about,” Kim Phillips said.
Come visit the Denton team at booth 529 in the Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, Texas 78701 from Sunday, March 13, through Wednesday, March 16. The Denton Showcase event featuring live Denton music is a come and go party with food and local Denton brews from 3:00-8:00 p.m. at Austin’s Silo on 7th St., 1300 E. 7th St, just a few walkable blocks from the Convention Center.